When she was almost 16, in 1501, Catalina made the journey to England. It
took her three months, and her ships weathered several storms, but she safely
made landfall at Plymouth on Oct 2, 1501. Catalina and Arthur were married
on 14 Nov 1501 in Old St. Paul's Cathedral, London. Catalina was escorted
by the groom's younger brother, Henry.

Shortly after the wedding, Arthur and Catalina went to live in Wales, as was tradition for the heir to the throne.
But, four months after the marriage began, it ended, with the death of Arthur
Prince of Wales.

A treaty was signed that would allow Catalina to marry the next heir to the
throne - Prince Henry. Until then,
Catalina's parents, Fernando and Isabel of Spain
would send over 100,000 crowns worth of plate and gold as a wedding
gift and Henry would pay the agreed upon dowry.

It was deemed necessary for a papal dispensation to be issued allowing Henry
to marry Catalina, as she was his dead brother's wife, and this marriage was
prohibited in Leviticus. At the time, and throughout her life, Catalina denied
that her marriage to Arthur had even been consummated (and given the boy's
health, that is most likely the case) so no dispensation was needed. However,
both the parties in Spain and England wanted to be sure of the legitimacy of the
marriage, so permission from the Pope was sought and received. This issue would
be very important during the Divorce and the Break with Rome.

Young Catalina by Michel SittowKunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

The coronation of
Catalina and Henry VIIICambridge University Library

Catalina de Aragon watching
Henry VIII joustCollege of Arms

As a young man
Henry enjoyed dancing, gambling, hunting, hawking, horseback riding, jousting,
tennis, archery, wrestling, writing and composing music, dancing, masques and
pageants. Catalina was five years older and much more sedate. She was
interested in politics and Henry often turned to her for advice. In 1513 she
ruled as regent while Henry was campaigning in France.

Although Catalina
was pregnant many times, only one of her children, Princess
Mary, survived.
Henry was a doting father and didn't seem to blame Catalina for her failure to
bear healthy sons. Henry is only known to have had two mistresses during his
marriage to Catalina, which made him a reasonably faithful husband by the
standards of the time. Catalina knew of his affairs but kept silent.

Henry was growing frustrated by his lack of a male heir, but he remained a
devoted husband. He had at least two mistresses that we know of: Bessie Blount
and Mary Boleyn. By 1526 though, he had begun to separate from
Catalina because
he had fallen in love with one of her ladies (and sister of one of his
mistresses): Anne Boleyn.

It is here that the lives of Henry's first and second wives begin to
interweave. By the time his interest in Anne became common knowledge, Catalina
was 42 years old and was no longer able to conceive. Henry's main goal now was
to get a male heir, which his wife was not able to provide. Somewhere along the
way, Henry began to look at the texts of Leviticus which says that if a man
takes his brother's wife, they shall be childless. As evidenced above, Catalina
and Henry were far from childless, and still had one living child. But, that
child was a girl, and didn't count in Henry's mind. The King began to petition
the Pope for an annulment.

At first, Catalina was kept in the dark about Henry's plans for their
annulment. When the news got to Catalina, she was very upset. She was also at a
great disadvantage since the court that would decide the case was far from
impartial. Catalina then appealed directly to the Pope, which she felt would
listen to her case since her nephew was Carlos V, the Holy Roman Emperor.

The political and legal debate continued for six years. Catalina was adamant
in saying that she and Arthur, her first husband and Henry's brother, did not
consummate their marriage and therefore were not truly husband and wife. Catalina
sought not only to retain her position, but also that of her daughter Mary.

Things came to a head in 1533 when Anne Boleyn became pregnant. Henry had to
act, and his solution was to reject the power of the Pope in England and to have
Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury grant the annulment. Catalina was
to renounce the title of Queen and would be known as the Princess Dowager of
Wales, something she refused to acknowledge through to the end of her life.

Catalina at
40years

by Lucas
Hornebolte

In the
collection of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry KT

Catalina and her daughter were separated and she was forced to leave court.
She lived for the next three years in several dank and unhealthy castles and
manors with just a few servants. However, she seldom complained of her treatment
and spent a great deal of time at prayer.

On 7 Jan 1536, Catalina died at Kimbolton Castle in the arms of Maria
de Salinas, lady Willoughby, her devoted friend who was there against the
King orders; and was buried at
Peterborough Abbey with the ceremony due for her position as Princess Dowager,
not as a Queen of England.